Friday, February 27, 2009

New DVDs available this week

Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust
Examines the American film and television industry's response to the rise of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi persecution of the Jews before, during, and after World War II.

Up the Yangtze
Life surrounding the Yangtze is changing due to the Three Gorges Dam. Filmmaker Yung Chang goes on a farewell cruise that traverses the gargantuan waterway.

The House Bunny
When Playboy Bunny, Shelly, is tossed out of the Playboy Mansion, she has nowhere to go. She quickly falls in with the sorority girls from Zeta Alpha Zeta. The members of the sorority, all seven of whom are socially inept, are about to lose their house. The girls need a dose of what only the eternally bubbly Shelley can provide. Eventually, the girls, and Shelly, learn to stop pretending to be what they think others want them to be and start being themselves.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Nick knows exactly how long it has been since Tris broke up with him - three weeks, two days, and 23 hours. Now she is at his gig, with a new guy. Nick can't understand how she could have moved on so fast. But that night, Nick meets Norah. They have nothing in common except their taste in music. This begins the night of Nick, Norah and Manhattan. Now, this chance meeting will turn into a crusade to find a legendary rock band's secret show and ends up being a first date and a night that will change their lives forever.

Dirty Dancing
The summer of 1963 innocent 17-year-old Baby vacations with her parents at a Catskill's resort. One evening she is drawn to the staff quarters by stirring music. There she meets Johnny, the hotel dance instructor, who is as experienced as Baby is naive. Baby soon becomes Johnny's pupil in dance and love.

The Children of Huang Shi
Set in the 1930's in war-torn China and inspired by true events. George Hogg is a young Englishman who leads sixty orphaned boys on an extraordinary journey of almost a thousand miles across the snow-bound Liu Pan Shan mountains to safety on the edge of the Mongolian desert. During his journey, George learns to rely on the support of Chen, the leader of a Chinese partisan group who becomes his closest friend. He soon finds himself falling in love with the Australian adventurer Lee, an unsentimental nurse. Along the way, Hogg befriends Madame Wang, an aristocratic survivor who has also been displaced by war. She helps the young Englishman, his friends and their sixty war orphans make their way to safety near the western end of the Great Wall of China.

What Just Happened?
Ben is an overburdened movie producer. He tries to balance his life and has to contend with the never-ending demands of 2 ex-wives, his ice-queen studio head, and a menagerie of various Hollywood prima donnas. Ben manages to take it all in stride. He copes by exuding a smoothly assuring demeanor. The only thing that really seems to upset Ben is when he discovers that his ex-wife sleeps with one of his colleagues.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Zack and Miri are lifelong friends and roommates who are facing hard times and a mountain of debt. When the electricity and plumbing get shut off, they seize upon the idea of making a homemade porno movie for some quick cash. They decide to enlist the help of their friends and they become part of the haphazard cast and crew. They both vow that having sex will not ruin their friendship. But as the filming begins, what started out as a business proposition between friends turns into something much more.

Changeling
Working-class suburb Los Angeles, 1928. Christine says goodbye to her son, Walter, and departs for work. Arriving home, Christine discovers that Walter is nowhere to be found. Christine launches a desperate a search for her son. Then, a boy claiming to be Christine's son appears out of thin air. Knowing the boy is not hers, Christine invites the child to stay in her home. Christine cannot accept the injustice being pushed upon her and continues to challenge the Los Angeles police force at every turn. The police slander Christine and paint her as an unfit mother. Christine challenges the system and the only person willing to aid her in her search is benevolent local activist Reverend Briegleb.

Friday, February 20, 2009

What I've bee watching:

Transsiberian
An intriguing thriller involving an American couple traveling by rail from Beijing to Moscow who inadvertently become involved in drugs, murder and missing money.

Bon Cop, Bad Cop
When a serial killer leaves a body draped over the border sign between Ontario & Quebec cops from both places are forced to work together to solve the crime. With their language & cultural differences they are indeed an odd couple but when things get serious it’s “shoot first, translate later.” Funny and exciting!

Bottle Shock
A wine connoisseur who believes there is no wine as good as French wine holds a blind tasting with French & California wines. Based on a true story, this sweet, funny film is one to savor.

Rocknrolla
Don’t bother with this one. I was so bored I started fast-forwarding towards the end. If you like Guy Ritchie, and I do, watch Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch. They’re much, much better. This one was like a failed attempt to do yet another crime comedy in the style of LS&TSB. And, bad news, the end of the film suggests they are making a Rocknrolla 2! Get over yourself Guy Ritchie and do something else! Please!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

New this week:

Blindness
A city is ravaged by an epidemic of 'white blindness.' Those first afflicted are quarantined by the authorities in an abandoned mental hospital where societal norms quickly break down. Criminals and the physically powerful prey upon the weak: hording the meager food rations and committing horrific acts. Inside the hospital is one eyewitness to the nightmare. Following her husband into the hospital, a woman whose sight is unaffected by the plague goes into quarantine. There, keeping her sight a secret, she guides seven strangers who have become like a family. She leads them out of quarantine and onto the ravaged streets of the city. Their voyage is fraught with danger, but their survival is a reflection of the depth of the human spirit.

Body of lies
CIA operative Roger Ferris is on a covert mission. He is working in Jordan and searching for terrorists who have been bombing civilian targets. Ferris uncovers information on the Islamist mastermind Al-Saleem. He devises a plan to infiltrate Al-Saleem's terrorist network with the help of his Langley boss, Ed Hoffman. Ferris enlists the help of the Chief of Jordanian Intelligence, Hani Salaam on this operation, but what he is not certain of is how far he can trust him without putting his life in danger. The uneasy alliance leads to a cultural and moral clash between the men.

Choke
Sex addict Victor Mancini works at a colonial reenactment theme park. He tries to hook up with everything on two legs. He courts the love and money of complete strangers via a demented con that might just kill him. But first, Victor must save his dying, delusional mother by seducing and impregnating her comely physician, a task easier said than done. A twisted tale of dysfunction, salvation, love and libido.

Flash of Genius
Based on the true story of Robert Kearns. The Kearns' were a typical 1960s Detroit family. Bob is a college professor and part-time inventor. When Bob invents a device that would eventually be used by every car in the world, the Kearns' think they have struck gold. But their aspirations are dashed after the auto giants, who originally embraced Bob's creation, unceremoniously shun him. Ignored, threatened and then buried in years of litigation, Bob is haunted by what was done to his family and their future. He becomes a man obsessed with justice and the conviction that his life's work, or anyone else's for that matter, should be acknowledged by those who stood to benefit. He and his family pay the toll for refusing to compromise his dignity.

Mad Men: season 1
In the glamorous and ego-driven world of advertising, everyone is selling something and nothing is ever what it seems. Set in 1960 New York, this series reveals the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue's "Golden Age," where key players make an art of the sell while their private world gets sold. And no one plays the game better than Don Draper, the biggest ad man--and ladies' man--in the business.

Miracle at St. Anna
August 1944. Follows four black soldiers of the all-black 92nd Infantry Division who get trapped near the small Tuscan village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema on the Gothic Line during the Italian Campaign of World War II. One of the men will risk his life to save an Italian boy who lives in the city where the Waffen-SS have massacred most of the citizens of the town in retaliation for Italian partisan activity.

Religulous
Humorist Maher travels the world interviewing scholars, clergy, and laypeople about God and religion.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

New this week

Seville, Jewel of Andalusia
Explore the Roman ruins of Italica, the lush Moorish palace of the Alcazar, Santa Cruz, and the city's largest cathedral, the celebrated La Giralda. Experience firsthand the art, architecture, history, and charm of Seville, the Jewel of Andalusia.

Victory at Sea
The original full-length episodes of the award-winning series made exclusively for television and containing actual live action footage. The videos introduce the campaigns and action of World War II, concentrating on battles and action at sea.

Bon Cop, Bad Cop
When the body of a hockey executive is found draped over the border sign dividing Ontario and Quebec, detectives Martin Ward, Toronto, and David Bouchard, Montreal, must work together whether they want to or not, forced to reconcile differences in language, attitude and style in order to catch a serial killer.

Frozen River
Takes place in the days before Christmas near a little-known border crossing on the Mohawk reservation between New York State and Quebec. Ray, a white woman and Lila, a Mohawk, both single mothers, both earning minimum wage and facing desperate circumstances, are drawn by the lure of fast money into the world of border smuggling across the frozen water of the St. Lawrence River.

The Lucky Ones
Colee, TK and Cheever are three soldiers who return home from the Iraq War after suffering injuries. They learn that life has moved on without them. The three end up on an unexpected road trip across the U.S. Colee is on a mission to bring her boyfriend's guitar back to his family. TK is seeking the confidence to face his wife after a shrapnel injury threatens his sexual function. Cheever is a middle-aged man who is planning to hit the casinos in a desperate effort to pay for his son's college tuition.

Max Payne
Max Payne works in the cold-case unit at the police department. He becomes obsessed with finding the killer who brutally murdered his wife and infant daughter. Max becomes hell-bent on revenge and is determined to track down those responsible for the murder of his family. Max is forced to battle enemies beyond the natural world.

Nights in Rodanthe
Adrienne Willis is a woman with her life in chaos. She retreats to the small coastal town in the Outer Banks. She hopes to find the tranquility she so desperately needs. She has a wayward husband who has asked to come home and a teen-aged daughter who resents her every decision. Upon arrival, a major storm is forecast and a guest named Dr. Paul Flanner arrives. Paul is the only guest at the inn. He is facing his own crisis of conscience. With the storm closing in, the two turn to each other for comfort and, in one magical weekend, set in motion a life-changing romance that will resonate throughout the rest of their lives.

Pride and Glory
Centered on a multi-generational family of New York City Police officers. The family's moral codes are tested when Ray Tierney, investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal that happens to involve his own brother-in-law. For Ray, the truth is revelatory, a Pandora's Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy, but the entire NYPD.

The Rocker
Robert 'Fish' Fishman is the extremely dedicated and astoundingly passionate drummer for the eighties hair band Vesuvius. He is living the rock n' roll dream until he is unceremoniously kicked out of the band. Twenty years after his rock star fantasies were destroyed and just when Fish has finally given up all hope, he hears that his nephew's high school rock band A.D.D. is looking for a new drummer. They reluctantly make him the newest member of the band. This gives him the chance to reclaim the rock God throne he's always thought he deserved. He takes the young band along for the ride of their lives.

RocknRolla
In London, a real-estate scam puts millions of pounds up for grabs. This attracts some of the city's scrappiest tough guys, along with its more established underworld types. All are looking to get rich quick. While the city's seasoned criminals vie for the cash, an unexpected player -- a drugged out rock 'n' roller presumed to be dead but is very much alive. He has the multi-million dollar prize fall, literally, into his hands.

The Secret Life of Bees
Lily Owens is a young girl who lives on the peach farm that her abusive father owns. Rosaleen is a black woman hired by Lily's father to be a stand in mother for Lilly. Rosaleen insults some of the biggest racists in their town. Lily and Rosaleen run away to a town Lily believes that her mother once lived in. They go to live with the three Boatwright sisters on their honey farm. She finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping.

Soul Men
Louis and Floyd are two former backup soul singers who have not spoken to each other in 20 years. They reluctantly agree to travel across the country together to a reunion concert to honor their recently deceased lead singer. Cleo is a beautiful young woman who is believed to be Floyd's daughter. She accompanies them as their new singer.

W.
A look at the life of the 43rd president of the United States. Rising from a privileged alcoholic to a born-again Christian whose belief in religious destiny helped move him to the top ranks of political power. How he used Christianity to turn his life around, met and married his wife, and the days before his decision to declare war on Iraq.